All of us, whichever job or project we choose to take on, do something to change the culture. That social impact, positive or negative, is our choice. It turns out that all of us are social entrepreneurs. It’s just that some people are choosing to make a bigger (and better) impact than others.
It’s a spectrum, not a label.
Seth Godin’s modified quote shared by Cause + Affect set the tone for delegates final takeaways on the last day of the 2015 Building Opportunities Conference on social purpose real estate in Vancouver. The sold out conference was hosted in Canada for the first time since its’ beginning (early 2000s), bringing together non-profit organizations, private developers, municipalities, funders, researchers, idea generators and shared service organizations across Canada and the United States. CitySpaces was a proud sponsor, volunteer and presenter of this event!
The core of the conference was focused on collaboration: shared spaces, community hubs, co-working spaces, shared services, research, and more. We heard from our friends in the non-profit sector that they are looking at their projects in a different way – from innovative means to generating revenue, financing, partnerships, and making projects work. Overall, the sessions and networking were a great way to get inspired and share ideas. (Need ideas? See what’s happening across Canada from the Tides Canada social purpose real estate report).
Measuring social returns on investment (SROI) was a hot session topic, lead by Jennifer Johnstone of Central City Foundation. Business in Vancouver (BIV) magazine highlights the SROI session in a recent article, noting that social purpose real estate accounts for 40% of Central City Foundation’s $36 million asset base. The article also references CitySpaces’ report on Social Purpose Real Estate in Metro Vancouver: demonstrating the baseline data and spatial distribution of the social purpose real estate sector with respect to space needs, tenure, stability, and affordability.
CitySpaces’ Housing and Social Policy Planner, Jada Basi, volunteered on the Host Committee and presented on Models of Shared Services in BC. Take a look at some of CitySpaces other Social Purpose Real Estate projects:
- Vancouver Public Library and YWCA Housing – currently underway
- Repurposing of Granville Island’s Emily Carr University
- Models of Asset Transfers and Shared Services in BC’s Non-Profit Housing Sector – coming soon!
- Social Purpose Real Estate Study of Metro Vancouver
- Feasibility and Site Evaluation Study for Squamish Helping Hands Society
- Pembroke Mews Mixed-Use Affordable Rental Housing Project
- Pacific Family Autism Centre
Thank you to the Social Purpose Real Estate Collaborative Table, VanCity, the Non-Profit Centres Network, and other major players on making this event a success! See the conference fun from the photos below.
